SkyeWard's First Easter
by CreativeReading
Summary: Skye and Ward celebrate their first Easter together as a married couple. Rated T for mentions of past abuse.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**\- This story is a sequel to "SkyeWard's First Christmas" although it can be read as a stand-alone.

**Friday**

Grant paced around their apartment for the better part of the afternoon, without even realizing it. Skye had to suppress a grin when he rearranged the newspapers on the kitchen counter for the tenth time. For someone who could face down a dozen assassins without even twitching, Grant was a nervous wreck at the thought of seeing his younger brother, Tommy, again.

Skye could understand. Grant's childhood had left him broken and vulnerable and he tried to hide that under a steely resolve when he faced the world. But, when it was just the two of them, his defenses were down and she saw the real Grant. And she loved him, despite all that he'd done, despite everything. It had been a long road towards healing for the both of them, overcoming the pain of their pasts and they still weren't completely whole.

But, they had each other and they were heading in the right direction and that's all that mattered.

Grant pulled out his phone, checking it for the tenth time in the past hour. Tommy said that he and his wife and girls were coming at five and it was nearly that time. "Do you think they got lost? GPS always misses the last turn. Maybe I should call them. I should have just picked them up from the airport," he said, looking at Skye.

She gave him a wide smile and she kneaded the dough for the bread she'd bake for dinner. "I'm sure they'll be here soon. Don't worry. L.A. traffic during rush hour is miserable, especially around LAX. He said that they were getting a rental car, right? I'm sure they'll be by soon."

Grant nodded, but still began gnawing on his lower lip. They had a big weekend planned. They were all going to Disneyland the next day and celebrating Easter together on Sunday. It was going to be the first time that Grant had seen his brother in over seventeen years. Tommy had reached out to Grant a few months ago, sending him a Christmas present and offering him forgiveness.

That offer of forgiveness was the best Christmas gift Grant had ever gotten. He felt a weight lift from him that he didn't know he'd been carrying. Knowing that his brother was willing to let go of the past meant so much to Grant.

Grant heard a car come up the driveway and he had to force himself not to run to the door of the apartment. He did, however, make sure to open it on the first knock.

"Hi, I'm Marta and this is Sandra," said Tommy's wife. She was holding the hand of the five year old. "Tommy's getting the luggage and Sofia's 'trying' to help him," she said with a grin.

"Glad you made it okay. I'm Grant." Grant didn't know what to do and awkwardly stuck out his hand to shake hers. In a normal family, there'd be hugs.

His family had never been normal.

"Are you our Uncle Grant?" Little Sandra asked, head cocked to the side.

"Um, yes," Grant said, crouching down to get eye to eye with the little girl, her dark eyes wide as she examined him.

"Then why don't you give us _**un abrazo**_ like Tío Ramon, Mommy's brother?" she asked.

_Because your uncle Ramon probably never tortured your mother_, Grant thought, the simple question stinging him. _They probably have a good, healthy relationship. They probably had a normal childhood._

"Sandra," Marta said sharply. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he said to Marta before turning back to Sandra. "Would you like a hug?"

Sandra nodded solemnly.

Grant opened his arms to her and she squeezed him tightly. And that simple act of acceptance meant the world to Grant. Reluctantly, he disengaged himself from her embrace and stood up. "I should go help Tommy with the luggage. Skye's inside getting dinner ready. I hope you like Italian," he said.

"Love it," Marta said.

Grant took the steps two at a time to get down to the ground floor. "Hi, Tommy," he said as he approached, not wanting to startle his brother, who was leaning inside of the open trunk of the rental car, taking out suitcases. There was another little girl next to him, her jet black hair pulled up in a messy ponytail, who almost looked like she could be her sister's twin. "And you must be Sofia," he added.

"I'm the oldest," she declared, hands on her hips. "A whole year older."

"I could tell," Grant lied. The truth was that they looked about the same height and he would have been hard pressed to tell the difference between the two.

She nodded sagely and ran up the stairs to follow her mother and sister.

"Hi, Grant," Tommy said softly, straightening up.

Grant's eyes went wide. The last time he saw Tommy in person, his brother was barely thirteen and was scrawny and short. Now, as he stood beside him, he could see that Tommy was a good inch taller than Grant. It felt odd to look up to his "baby brother".

"You got tall," Grant said, wincing at the inane reply.

"Thank goodness for that," Tommy said good-naturedly, sticking out his hand to shake. "It's good to see you, man."

Grant swallowed hard, shaking his brother's hand. "Good to see you, too. Um, how was your flight?"

"Rough, to be honest. Flying with kids across country . . . . it's not for the faint of heart. But, we're here."

"I'm glad you came. Thank you. For the letter at Christmas. It meant a lot," Grant admitted.

"It was a long time coming. Truth is, I should have written it a while ago. But . . .," Tommy shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, still, thanks."

Tommy nodded. "So you're married."

Grant smiled. "Yeah. Come on up and meet her."

"I'd like that," Tommy said.

"Let me grab some of the suitcases," Grant offered.

"Thanks. I swear we're not moving in," Tommy joked as he waved at the four large suitcases.

"No worries," Grant said, heartened by the easy camaraderie between them as he followed his brother up the stairs, carrying two of the cases.

Maybe spring really was the time for new beginnings.

* * *

**Author's Notes-**

A. I'll be the first one to admit that this ship is in a bit of turmoil right now on the show. So, you can take this story one of two ways.

1) It's been several years since the events of Seasons 1 and 2 and Grant has been through sufficient prison time, therapy, and soul-searching, etc. so that he can enter into a somewhat healthy relationship and marriage.

2) Universe Alteration- The events of Seasons 1 and 2 occurred without Grant's ties to Hydra or Garrett.

One of the fun things about fan fiction is the ability to zig where the original authors/creators zagged.

B. Spanish translation- hug


	2. Chapter 2

**Saturday**

Grant woke up at six the next morning to an incessant knocking on their bedroom door.

"Uncle Grant! Aunt Skye! Wake up! Wake up!"

He groaned slightly as Skye shifted beside him and sat up. "Morning, sweetie. Disneyland opens at eight. We promised them an early morning, remember?"

He nodded. "I'll go make coffee while you get dressed?"

She shook her head. "No time. We can get some at the park."

Grant arched a brow at that. Skye loved her coffee only slightly less than she loved him. "You sure?"

She got up and strode to her closet, flinging it open. "Yep. C'mon. I need to find something to wear. It's going to be hot today."

Grant walked over to her, hugging her from behind as she rifled through her clothes. "How about your red shorts? I really like them." It didn't hurt that they showed off her gorgeous legs.

Skye scrunched her nose. "Nah. They don't fit right now. Too tight."

_Oops_, Grant thought. _I walked right into that one_. "I'm sure you'll find something," he said, hoping to mollify her. He didn't want to hurt her feelings. She always got touchy when some of her clothes didn't quite fit.

"Yeah," she said halfheartedly.

"I'll get us some breakfast. Oatmeal or cereal?"

"Cereal would be quicker," she replied. "I'll be out soon."

"Of course," Grant lied as he walked out of the bedroom. Skye always took forever to get dressed.

"Sorry . . . about the girls," Marta said as Grant emerged from the bedroom to see his brother and his family in the living room. "They're still on East Coast time."

"No worries," he told her. He turned to the two expectant little girls, both dressed in princess costumes, covered from head to toe in glitter. "Alright, Sandra and Sofia, are you ready for some breakfast?"

"We've already eaten. And I'm Sofia and she's Sandra," the older girl said in an exasperated tone. It had been the fourth time that Grant had mixed them up.

"If it helps to remember," Tommy explained, "S**a**ndra is dressed as **A**riel and S**o**fia is dressed as Sn**o**w White."

"Thanks," Grant said, repeating the mnemonic trick in his head. He grinned at the mention of Snow White. It reminded him of the seven drones that FitzSimmons had named after the seven dwarfs. He made a mental note to call them and invite them out to Disneyland sometime soon, although he knew that they had their hands full with their own two boys.

"I've installed two different wait time apps on my phone for the rides and Marta has packed lunches for the park as well as jackets and sunscreen. We've mapped out all the different things the girls want to see," Tommy said, showing Grant his phone.

Grant bit his lower lip to keep from smiling at his brother's eagerness to plan everything out. He'd been on missions that weren't as well coordinated. He had to hand it to him. Tommy took going to Disneyland seriously.

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By four in the afternoon, Grant was as tired as he could ever remember being. It had been a warm day and Disneyland was incredibly crowded. Everywhere he looked there was a sea of people.

However, it had helped getting there early. By eleven, they had gone on the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean (which the girls dubbed "too scary"), It's a Small World (twice in a row), King Arthur's Carousel, the Flying Dumbo ride, and the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride (where Sofia had ironically scored higher for shooting targets than her Uncle Grant). After that, they had seen the Anna and Elsa "Frozen" show at the Royal Theatre and had a meet and greet with Snow White, Ariel, and Belle.

Tommy and Marta had wanted to go on a few of the more daring rides that the girls wanted to skip, and Skye had offered to watched them and take them back to the gentler rides at Fantasyland. Grant had said that he would stay with them, but Skye urged him to go on the Indiana Jones Ride and Star Tours with his brother and sister-in-law.

All in all, it had been a good day.

They all sat side by side on the curb lining Main Street and got ready to watch the four o'clock parade. Little Sandra rested her head on Skye's shoulder, enamored with her "new" aunt. Grant smiled as he saw them together, briefly wondering if someday their own children might have the same thick, dark hair and eyes that flashed with curiosity and enthusiasm at everything they saw.

He hoped so.

0000000

Tommy had a dinner reservation at The Rainforest Cafe right outside the park at five p.m. It was a bit early for dinner, but everyone was tired and they agreed that they needed a break. Marta had suggested taking the girls to see the new Cinderella movie at the theater across from the restaurant after dinner and then going back to the park to watch the fireworks. Grant had eagerly agreed, since getting out of the heat and away from the crowds sounded like a wonderful idea.

"Thanks again, for having us over. It meant a lot to the girls. I know going to Disneyland all day with little kids can be exhausting," Tommy said. He and Grant had gone to the ESPN sports bar next to the movie theater while the women took the girls to see the movie.

"I was glad you could come," Grant said. He took a deep breath. "Tommy, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. About everything. I . . . I was a horrible brother. To be honest, for a long time . . . I was a horrible person."

"Yes. You were," Tommy said bluntly, taking a sip of his beer. "But . . . you don't seem to be that way now."

"I . . . I try hard not to be."

"We came from a broken home. What I mean is . . . Mom and Dad never split up, but they were two broken people full of hurt and anger and they took it out on us in their own ways."

"That they did," Grant agreed, looking down and playing with the label on his bottle. He still had nightmares from his childhood. He still woke up screaming and thrashing in bed, with Skye calming him down and soothing him back to sleep.

Tommy gave him a small smile. "You know, even after everything you did . . . . I still missed you when you went away."

Grant winced. "I . . . I didn't know that."

Tommy shrugged, taking another swig of his beer. "I always looked up to you. You, at least, stood up to them. I never did."

"Is it hard? Raising kids . . . after all you've been through?" Grant asked delicately.

"Raising kids is hard even if you had a 'Leave It to Beaver' childhood," Tommy said ruefully. "But . . . Marta helps. She helps me remember why we're doing all this. Why I keep trying to make this a better future."

"For them?" Grant said, thinking of the two little girls who adored their father.

Tommy nodded, clinking his bottle against Grant's in a toast. "For them."

* * *

**Author's Note**\- Next up, Sunday!


	3. Chapter 3

**Sunday**

The next morning, Grant woke up before the kids did. He puttered around the kitchen, making coffee and pancakes. They hadn't gotten back home until after midnight, with the girls falling asleep on the ride home.

Skye came in a few minutes later, stretching and yawning. "I can't believe that you're already up."

"My body is finely tuned machine, geared to function on limited sleep," he deadpanned.

Skye giggled, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him on the cheek. "Good to know."

"Coffee?" Grant offered.

"Nah. My tummy's bit rumbly this morning. Too much cotton candy in the park."

Grant cocked his head to the side. "That's been happening a lot lately. Are you sure you're alright?'

"I'm sure," Skye said vaguely. "You made pancakes!" she exclaimed as looked over to the stove.

"They're nearly done. I've got the oven on low to warm them until the kiddos wake up. Do you want to hide the eggs while I finish up?" Since they didn't have a backyard, Skye had planned to hide Easter eggs around the apartment for the girls.

"Great idea," she said and then walked over to the closet to find where she had hidden the eggs.

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The girls and their parents didn't wake up until well past eight. Sandra and Sofia squealed in glee as they saw their large Easter baskets filled with Disney-themed goodies. Then, they raced around the apartment, finding all of the eggs that Skye had hidden in less than five minutes. Afterwards, they ate breakfast together and then everyone got changed for church.

The girls were decked out in matching lemon yellow dresses, bows in their hair. Grant gulped, as they looked more like twins than ever and he reminded himself not to mix them up again and earn Sofia's ire. Once they all arrived at church, the girls were dropped off at the kids' program and Tommy and Marta followed Grant and Skye into the main sanctuary.

"I didn't know that you were much into church," Tommy said as they sat down.

Grant shrugged. "I wasn't . . . for a long time. But, Skye started coming here a few months back and well . . . I thought I'd give it a try."

Tommy smiled. "You have changed."

Grant didn't know what to say. "Thanks."

After a few opening songs, the pastor took the stage, clad in khakis and a button-down shirt. He beamed at the congregation. "Good morning."

"Good morning!" the crowd cheerfully replied.

"It's good to see so many new faces. My name is Pastor Michael; I'm the lead pastor on staff here. Now, for those of you who don't know me, my wife and I have three beautiful children, two girls and a boy. And my kids love the 99 cent store. Any other parents out there that can relate?"

Quite a few hands in the crowd went up, including Tommy and Marta's.

The pastor smiled. "So, I see I'm not alone. We go there almost every week. And you know what my kids want me to buy there?" He paused. "Toys. Cheap, flimsy toys. And I hate it because they always end up like this." He held aloft a twisted piece of plastic. "This used to be a pair of binoculars. Now, it's a piece of trash. The reason I don't like buying toys there isn't that I'm upset that they get broken. I mean . . . they only cost a dollar. No, what bothers me is the way my kids bring me these broken, malformed things and want me to fix them. They want me to put them back together. And I can't. Once they're broken, they're broken. And I feel bad when I look at my kids in the face and I have to tell them that there's nothing I can do."

He took a deep breath, holding the toy up again. "A lot of us feel like this toy. Like we're damaged beyond repair. Like we're useless. Like there's no way to make us whole again."

Grant thought of his past. Of the pain. Of the hurt. Of the anger and cruelty. No matter what he did, the burden of it pulled at him. The self-loathing, the recriminations. He felt weighted down by them.

The pastor continued. "But Easter is a remembrance of good news. Of a hope of redemption, of renewal. Of being made whole, unblemished, complete. Christ's sacrifice gives us a way to let go of our past, free ourselves from the pain that has kept us bound. God loves you and wants to have an abundant life full of joy. That is the radical promise of Easter. Through Jesus' redemptive act, we are released from our past so that we can become the men and women God intended us to be. No longer haunted by our pasts, no longer forced to repeat the same destructive patterns. We are offered life. You are not this toy." He held up the gnarled piece of plastic again. "Whatever your past, you can be made whole. The slate can be wiped clean."

"Remember this. Never forget this. You are loved. Completely and perfectly loved. That's why we have Easter. It is a manifestation of God's love for you. Of the lengths He went to for you to bring you back home, whole and complete, safe and sound."

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Not long after the service, Tommy and Marta had to leave. They were planning on going up to San Francisco for a few days before flying out of LAX at the end of the week. Sandra and Sofia gave Grant and Skye their crafts from Sunday school, covered in glue, cotton balls, and glitter. Grant promised that he'd put them up on their refrigerator.

"Thanks again, for letting us stay. It was really good to see you," Tommy said to Grant as Marta buckled the girls into the car. "The girls will be talking about this trip for years."

"Thanks for coming. Thanks for that letter . . . I didn't deserve your forgiveness. The things I've done . . . " and with that, Grant broke down, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry, man."

Tommy hugged his older brother for the first time in decades. "Hey, it's okay. Really it is. I forgive you. It's like your pastor said. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. And we all need a little grace. We all need forgiveness. We're good, Grant. Really, we are."

Grant held on tightly for a moment, not wanting to let go. For a moment, he was a little kid again, all the pain and brokenness swept away in a moment of mercy. Finally, he nodded and stepped back. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. You should come out to Maine. We'd love to have you and Skye stay with us. Maybe you could finally learn which one is Sandra and which one is Sofia," he teased good-naturedly.

"I'd like that," Grant said genuinely, feeling more at peace than he had in years.

00000

Once all the good-byes had been said, Grant and Skye trudged up to their apartment, both still tired from the day before. "Do you want me to make lunch?" Grant offered. "I could make chili?"

Skye shook her head. "Not for me. Actually, I need to go to the bathroom. My stomach isn't doing so well."

Grant knit his brow, concern for his wife overcoming him. She had seemed out of sorts lately.

Then, it struck Grant.

Skye's clothes didn't fit her.

She wasn't drinking coffee.

She refused to go on the roller coasters at Disneyland.

She was queasy all the time.

"You're pregnant!" he nearly yelled through the bathroom door.

Skye opened the door and nodded, wiping her mouth with a towel. "I wanted to wait to tell you until after your brother left. I didn't want to overshadow your time with Tommy."

He took her in his arms. "I'm so happy!"

She held onto him, returning the embrace as she kissed him. "Me, too. I know that we thought it might take a little longer, but . . . I can't wait."

Grant nodded. "I'm going to be a dad!"

"That you are."

"You are going to be the most amazing mother ever. I saw you with our nieces. You were incredible," Grant said.

"You were, too."

"So, who do you want to tell first? FitzSimmons or Coulson and May?" Grant asked. He knew that she had probably been dying to tell them.

"Coulson and May. He did walk me down the aisle after all. He should know he's going to be an honorary grandpa. And May's gonna flip at the idea of being a grandma."

Grant kissed Skye once more. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

_A new baby on the way,_ Grant thought. _New beginnings, indeed._

* * *

**Author's Note**\- Thank you all for your very kind reviews! I'm so glad that you've enjoyed this story. If there's enough reader interest, I might consider writing about SkyeWard and their new baby some time in the future. That might be fun to explore.


End file.
